Method for making lengths of rope

ABSTRACT

Strands are cut to length and suspended between a simple stationary strand-twisting device operated by a stationary electric motor and a strand-laying device comprising a portable motor that may be a usual electric drill or a motor mounted on a track. A paddle-like strand spacer is inserted between the strands near the drill, and after the strands are twisted sufficiently by operation of the stationary motor alone, both the stationary motor and drill are operated simultaneously to lay the strands together at the same speed at which they are being twisted while the strand spacer is moved from the drill toward the strand-twisting device.

United States Patent Myers 0 [451 Dec. 5, 1972 i541 METHOD FOR MAKING LENGTHS OF ROPE [72] Inventor: John A. Myers, Cordova, 111. 61242 [22] Filed: July 15, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 162,874

[52] US. Cl. ..57/1 R, 57/106 [51] Int. Cl. ..D07b 3/00 [58] Field of Search ....57/l R, 21, 34 R, 59, 64, 100, 57/106, 108,138, 156

[56] References Cited Germany ..57/l R 1'0 ROPE LAYING MOTOR CONTROL.

VOLTAGE Primary Examiner-Werner l-l. Schroeder I Attorney-Henderson & Strom [5 7 ABSTRACT Strands are cut to length and suspended between a simple stationary strand-twisting device operated by a stationary electric motor and a strand-laying device comprising a portable motor that may be a usual electric drill or a motor mounted on a track. A paddle-like strand spacer is inserted between the strands near the drill, and after the strands are twisted sufficiently by operation of the stationary motor alone, both the stationary motor and drill are operated simultaneously to lay the strands together at the same speed at which they are being twisted while the strand spacer is moved from the drill toward the strand-twisting device.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED 5 I97? 7 3. 7 O4 5 T8 sum 1 or 2 20 g ,7 M f 27 TO ROPE LAYING l G.

MOTOR CONTROL VOLTAGE FIG. 2 F IG. 3

FIG. 4

INVENTOR.

JOHN A. MYERS PATENTEDnEc slszz 3.704.578

sum 2 or 2 0 STRAND TWISTING MOTOR TO ROPE LAYING INVENTOR.

J OHN A. MYERS MW awe/M METHOD FOR-MAKING LENGTHS OF ROPE 7 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to apparatus and method for making rope and particularly to low-cost apparatus for economically and quickly making rope in moderate lengths.

In US. Pat. No. 189,099 issued to L.E. I-Iigby on Apr. 3, I877, apparatus is shown for continuously twisting strands of fibers as they are unwound from revolving spools and simultaneously and synchronously laying the fibers into a rope that is being wound on a drum. A guide shown mounted between the revolving spools has one arm facing the spindles for receiving. the twisted strands and holding them apart, and another arm somewhat closer to the drum for receiving the rope that is formed by laying together the strands between the two arms. The guide is stationary while the fibers are continuously moved from the revolving spools to the drum where the finished rope is coiled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of this invention is to use a minimum amount of special apparatus to make rope quickly and economically in lengths. The present method is an improvement over old methods by which rope is made by laying lengths of strands between a support and handcranked wheel for twisting the strands together. The strands are cut to length as they were formerly and laid parallel. At one end of the arrangement, each strand is fastened to a respective spindle, and at the other end, all the strands are combined in a knot fastened to a single shaft. A spacer or strand divider near the knot maintains the strands apart. The spindle are rotatably coupled to an electric motor to rotate simultaneously in the same direction at the same speed to twist the individual strands. The shaft to which the knot of the divider is moved at an even speed from the knot to the rotating spindles. The rope is formed between the rotating shaft of the portable motor and the spacer.

Without much additional expense, an electric motor mounted on rails and moved by a pulley system and a weight as shown can be substituted for an electric drill. This additional arrangement, including control switches near each motor for controlling both motors, facilitates making rope quickly in large quantities by a single operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of rope-making apparatus with strands attached in preparation for making rope;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the spindle device taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 to show a preferred method of coupling;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3- 3 of FIG. 1 to show the spacing of strands by a strand divider;

FIG. 4 is a simplified side view of the rope-making apparatus showing the strands being laid into rope;

FIG. 5 is an oblique view of a rope-twisting device to replace the electric drill shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an oblique top view of the motor mounting base shown in FIG. 5 to show particularly the means for mounting it on rails; and

FIG. 7 is an oblique bottom view of the motor mounting base.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1, strands 11 are. suspended between a strand-twisting device 12 anda portable electric motor 13. The strand-twisting device has a plurality of spindles 14-16, the number of spindles corresponding to the number of strands to be used to make the rope. The spindles are rotatably mounted uniformly about an axis corresponding to that on which rope will be formed, and are rotatably coupled to an electric motor 17. Operation of the motor is controlled in a usual manner by an electric switch that is represented by the switch 22. The coupling means may be any conventional type that causes simultaneous rotation of the spindles in the same direction at the same speed. 7

A type of coupling that is preferred because of its simplicity is shown in FIG. 2. Three spindles l4-16 are mounted at the apexes of an equilateral triangular arrangement and a motor 17 is mounted with its shaft about midway between any two of the spindles. Similar pulleys 18-20 are mounted on respective spindles 14-16 and an additional pulley is mounted on the shaft of the motor 17. The inside portion of a double-V belt is placed in the grooves of the pulleys 14-16 and the outside portion is placed in the groove of the pulley 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, each spindle 14-16 has a hook or an eye to which a strand 11 is tied. Material for the strands'll have been cut into lengths somewhat longer than the length of the rope that is to be made. Each strand 11 has one end tied to a hook or eye at-the end of a respective spindle 14-16 and the other end tied in common knot 24 that is clamped to a portable electric motor 13. Conveniently, the motor 13 is a usual electric hand drill having a chuck for receiving the shank of a suitable hook or clamp for grasping the knot 24. A usual switch 27 mounted in front of the handle of the drill controls its operation.

A flat strand divider 25 is inserted between the strands to arrange the strands as they are on the spindles so that they are substantially parallel when they are pulled taut by pulling on the portable motor 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the strand divider 25 may be shaped like a flat paddle having a handle and a plurality of notches 26 evenly spaced about its periphery to receive the strands 11.

After the strands have been cut to length andtied between the spindle device 12 and the portable electric motor 13, an operator pulls with sufficient force on the motor 13 to draw the strands taut and then closes the electric switch 22 to start the motor 21 for twisting the strands 11. The tension of the strands is not critical. The strands are twisted until the fiber in each strand of rope will lie in the longitudinal direction of the finished rope. The amount of time to twist the strandsis not critical either", and after just a little experience, an operator acquires a sense of the amount of time required for various lengths of rope to twist the fibers the desired amount. I

After the interval required to twist the individual strands by operation of the motor 21, the switch 27 is closed to start the operation of the portable electric motor 13. The motors l3 and 21 and their couplings are selected to rotate together all the strands 11 by the shaft of the portable electric motor 13 at the same speed as that of the spindles 14-16 and also in the same direction. Immediately after the motor 13 is started, the operator moves the strandspacer along the strands toward the spindle device 12 at a uniform rate to cause the strands to be laid in the rope 28 (FIGQ4). The spacer 25 must be moved fast enough to prevent the rope from kinking, but slow enough to form a sufficient number of wraps of strands to provide a tight lay of the rope. An operator can observe the distance between the strand spacer 25 andthe rope 28 as it is being formed to determine the 'rate of movement of the spacer and also can very quickly determine the proper rate by the feel of the spacer because it appears to the operator to move easily'at the desired rate. When the strands 11 are almost completely laid into rope, both motors l3 and 21are shut off, and the rope is removed from the spindles 14-16 and from the shaft of the motor 13. 7

Without much additional expense, the rope-laying apparatus of FIG. 5 can be substituted for the drill 13 of FIG. 1, and by using this apparatus, a single operator can make a large quantity of 'good quality rope. In order to start to make rope, the strands 11 of FIG. 1 are connected to the spindle 29 of FIG. 5 rather than to the chuck of the drill 13 of FIG. 1 as described above. The spindle 29 is rotated by a motor 30 mounted on a rectangular mounting base 31. The mounting base is adapted to be moved easily along a pair of rails 32 that are aligned with the strand-twisting device 12. To maintain the strands ll taut while they are being twisted by the strand-twisting device 12,t he base 11 carrying the rope-laying spindle 29 is urged in the direction away from the device 12. g

A simple and effective means for maintaining the strands taut is shown in FIG. 5. A rope 33 is tied to the end of the base 31 opposite the spindle 29 and extends past the remote ends of the rails through a pulley 34 fastened to a fixed point below and beyond the center of the rails 32. From the pulley 34, the rope 33 extends upwardly through a fixed pulley 35, downwardly through a movable pulley 36, and again upwardly to a fixed point 38. A weight 37 attached to the pulley 36 provides the tension for keeping the strands 11 taut, and it can be changed as required to provide desired tension according to the size of rope to be made. To prevent the base 31 from being pulled off the endof the track by the force of the falling weight 37, a stop is provided. A rope 53 may be connected between a solid support and the end of the base 31 adjacent the spindle to function as a stop and also as a means for pulling the base back along the track before attaching strands for a new length of rope.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rails 32 are supported above a floor at a convenient height by any suitable supports and as shown in FIG. 6, the bottom of each of the rails is curved inwardly and then upwardly in a J-shape to retain wheels 39 of the base 31 between the rails. The way in which the wheels are mounted keeps them in the lower curved portion of the rails and allows them to rotate freely even though the distance between the rails varies somewhat due to inaccurate mounting of the rails. 1

As shown in FIG. 6, each wheel 39 is mounted on an axle that is rotatably mounted in a sleeve 41. Four brackets 42 are mounted on the ends of the base 31 to support the respective axles 40 such that opposite wheels are positioned in a groove of 'a different one of the pair of rails 32. Each of the. axles extends beyond its respective sleeve, and it can easily slide longitudinally as required to maintain the oppositely positioned pairs of wheels in the grooves of the rails in spite of slight variation in distance between them. I

The spindle 29 is rotatably mounted above the base 31 by a pair of sleeves 43 that are supported in a usual manner by brackets. A pulley 44 is mounted between the sleeves 43, and it is engaged by a belt 45 that ex tends downwardly through an opening 46 in thebase 31 to a pulley 47 secured to the shaft of the motor 30 (FIG. 7) that is pivotally mounted to the bottom of the base 31. The motor 30 has a pair of aligned sleeves 48 attached to its housing for receiving a rod 49 that is supported below the bottom of the base 31 by a pair of brackets 50. The sleeves 48 are rotatable about the rod 49, and the motor is rotated until it is nearly horizontal relative to the rod 49 where it is held by the belt 45 which is kept tightby the weight of the motor. The pulley 47 is preferably a step-pulley with grooves of different diameters that permit selection of different speeds for making different sizes and kinds of ropes. Obviously, the speed of the spindle 29 can be varied by merely liftingthe motor 30 and placing the belt 45 in a different groove of the pulley 47.

A switch -22.is positioned near the strand-twisting device 12, and a switch 51 is mounted on the base 31 of the rope-laying apparatus of FIG. 5. Preferably, the motor 30 is controlled by a latching relay 52, and relay 52 is controlled by both the switches 22 and 51. Both switches also control the operation of the motor 17 of the strand-twisting device. Both the strand-twisting motor 17 and the rope-laying motor 30 are reversible so that the finished rope can be twisted in either direction.

A single operator can make lengths of rope quite quickly and economically by the use of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5. As described above, the strands 1 l are connected to the spindles 14-16 of FIG. 1, and then the operator connects the strands together to the spindle 29 of FIG. 5. Switch 51 is then operated to start the motor 17 of FIG. 1 to twist the strands a sufficient amount while they are being held taut by the force of the weight 37. When the strands 11 are twisted sufficiently, the switch 51 is operated to start the motor 30 for laying the rope while the operator moves the strand divider 25 along the strands to the strand-twisting device 12. When the strand divider 25 is close to the spindle-twistingdevice 12, the switch 22 is operated to stop both of the motors 17 and 30. The operator then lays out strands for making another length of rope, and while the strands are being twisted, the operator can prepare the ends of the rope that has just been made and coil it for storage.

Through use of this inexpensive equipment, industrial users of rope, such as fishermen, can make the rope from inexpensive fiber, such as sisal or polypropolene, during their slack season and have it ready for their busy season. More expensive and stronger rope can be made by using nylon, and substantial savings can be obtained because of the economical production and the elimination of cost of distribution of finished rope.

Iclaim: 1. The method of making rope comprising: cutting the number of strands required for a length of the rope somewhat longer than the length of the rope that is to be made, tying one end of each of the cut strands to a separate spindle of a stationary strand-twisting device, the spindles being arranged uniformly about an axis on which rope is to be formed, tying together the other end of each of the cut strands to the shaft of a portable electric motor, placing a hand-movable spacer between the strands at a position close to the portable electric motor, the spacer having retaining notches for the separate strands spaced in an arrangement corresponding to that of said spindles, so that the taut strands are substantially parallel, positioning said portable electric motor with its shaft in the direction of the strands to hold the strands taut between it and the stationary spindle device, rotating simultaneously the spindles of the stationary strand-twisting device in the same direction and at the same speed by operating an electric motor coupled thereto, starting the rotation of the shaft of the portable electric motor when the individual strands have been twisted until their fibers will be parallel with the finished rope to rotate the strands as a group at the same speed at which the spindles are driven and in the direction that opposes additional twisting of the individual strands by the strand-twisting device, and moving the spacer immediately after starting the portable electric motor at a uniform rate from its initial position to a point near the spindle-twisting device to form rope extending between the spacer and the portablev electric motor, the rate of movement of the spacer being readily determined by observation of the distance between the spacer and the rope, and stopping rotation of the spindles of the strand-twisting device and also the shaft of the portable electric motor when the strands have beensubstantially completely laid in the rope. V

2. Rope-making apparatus comprising:

a strand-twisting device having a first electric motor, a plurality of parallel strand-twisting spindles spaced about an axis on which rope is to be made and rotatably mounted and coupled to said first motor to be rotated in unison at the same rate and in the same direction,

a rope-laying device having a base, a rope-laying spindle rotatably mounted to said base, a second electric motor mounted to said base and coupled to said rope-laying spindle, said second motor being operable to rotate said rope-laying spindle in the same direction and at thesame rate as the direction and rate of rotation of said strand-twisting spindles,

a track aligned with said axis of said strand-twisting spindles and extending therefrom for a distance equal to that of the longest length of rope to be made, means for movably mounting said base on said track and means for constantly urging said base along said track with a desired force in a direction away from said strand-twisting device to maintain taut strands of rope extending from different ones of said strand-twisting spindles to said rope-laying spindle, said rope-laying spindle being aligned on said axis,

a strand spreader movable from said rope-laying device toward said strand-twisting device, and control means for selectively operating said motors.

3. Rope-making apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said track is a pair of rails spaced apart and said means for constantly urging said base along said rails is an arrangement of pulleys, a weight, and a rope connected to said base and to said weight and guided by said pulleys such that the weight travels vertically during the length of travel of said base along said track to maintain taut strands of rope to be made.

4. Rope-making apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said track is a pair of parallel J-shaped rails, a plurality of opposite pairs of wheels rotatably mounted to said base, each of said wheels engaging the groove formed by the J-shape of an adjacent one of said rails, an axle secure to each of said wheels, a bearing for each of said wheels, each bearing being mounted to said base, each of said axles being longitudinally slidable in its respective bearing to allow variation in distance between opposite ones of said wheels so that said rails do not need to be mounted precisely to maintain said wheels in said grooves. 

2. Rope-making apparatus comprising: a strand-twisting device having a first electric motor, a plurality of parallel strand-twisting spindles spaced about an axis on which rope is to be made and rotatably mounted and coupled to said first motor to be rotated in unison at the same rate and in the same direction, a rope-laying device having a base, a rope-laying spindle rotatably mounted to said base, a second electric motor mounted to said base and coupled to said rope-laying spindle, said second motor being operable to rotate said rope-laying spindle in the same direction and at the same rate as the direction and rate of rotation of said strand-twisting spindles, a track aligned with said axis of said strand-twisting spindles and extending therefrom for a distance equal to that of the longest length of rope to be made, means for movably mounting said base on said track and means for constantly urging said base along said track with a desired force in a direction away from said strand-twisting device to maintain taut strands of rope extending from different ones of said strand-twisting spindles to said rope-laying spindle, said rope-laying spindle being aligned on said axis, a strand spreader movable from said rope-laying device toward said strand-twisting device, and control means for selectively operating said motors.
 3. Rope-making apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said track is a pair of rails spaced apart and said means for constantly urging said base along said rails is an arrangement of pulleys, a weight, and a rope connected to said base and to said weight and guided by said pulleys such that the weight travels vertically during the length of travel of said base along said track to maintain taut strands of rope to be made.
 4. Rope-making apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said track is a pair of parallel J-shaped rails, a plurality of opposite pairs of wheels rotatably mounted to said base, each of said wheels engaging the groove formed by the J-shape of an adjacent one of said rails, an axle secure to each of said wheels, a bearing for each of said wheels, each bearing being mounted to said base, each of said axles being longitudinally slidable in its respective bearing to allow variation in distance between opposite ones of said wheels so that said rails do not need to be mounted precisely to maintain said wheels in said grooves. 